Professor Brenda V. Smith part of Congressional Commission that is Releasing Report and Proposed Federal Standards to Address Prison Rape

The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission issued its final report on sexual abuse in U.S. correctional and detention facilities on June 23, along with a comprehensive set of proposed federal standards to address prison rape. Professor Brenda V. Smith, project director for the U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Corrections Cooperative Agreement on Addressing Prison Rape, has served on this commission for the past five years. The commission is the first congressional commission to study government policies and practices related to sexual abuse of persons under custodial supervision, and the first to offer comprehensive standards to detect, reduce, and punish prison rape in a wide range of facilities, including jails, lockups, prisons, juvenile facilities, community corrections, and immigration detention facilities. Here is the Full Report, and a story in the Washington Post.

Press Releases

• WCL Health Law and Policy Institute Returns June 15-19 (06/09/09)
• International Conference of Women Judges to Explore Gender and Justice as U.S. Supreme Court Nomination Focuses Attention on Female Judges (06/02/09)
• Washington College of Law Experts Available to Comment on Sotomayor Nomination (05/29/09)
• Washington College of Law Hosts 14th Annual Inter-American Moot Court Competition (05/19/09)
• Constitutional Law Experts to Debate DC Voting Rights Act (05/18/09)
• Additional recent releases...

Washington College of Law In the News...

WAMU 88.5 FM
WCL Professor Joshua Sarnoff appeared on WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi Show to talk about the breast cancer gene patent suit Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Myriad Genetics, and the University of Utah Research Foundation, et al. The case challenges the validity of Myriad’s BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer gene patents, as unpatentable products of nature and as violating the First Amendment by restricting thought.

Fox 5 WTTG-TV
Law professor Stephen Wermiel appeared on a WTTG-Fox 5 television news segment about the nomination, and said Sonia Sotomayor should prepare for tough questions from Congress. “This is the last conversation you have with someone who is about to be appointed for life,” he said. “There's value in either side.”

Clean Skies TV
Law professor Bill Snape appeared on Clean Skies TV to offer insight into Sonia Sotomayor’s experience with regard to matters of the environment, and offered a positive review of her record on the topic. The segment also ran on local ABC affiliates.

San Diego Tribune-Union
Law professor Stephen Vladeck told the San Diego Tribune-Union that Sonia Sotomayor brings a new and different background to the Supreme Court. “She has a working-class background. She's the only one, if she is confirmed, who would ever have served as a district judge,” he said. “If the president was looking for someone who brought a different voice and a different view to the court, I think he found her.” Read full article.

CBS 9 WUSA
Stephen Vladeck was quoted in a WUSA-CBS 9 story about the prevalence of homegrown terrorists after three of four suspects in a terrorist plot against two New York synagogues were found to be citzens of the United States. “Whatever the motive of the individual actors, the real crime is on the effect it has on all of us, more and above the effect it has on the potential victims," he said.